Interest in geological and palaeontological curiosities by southern African non-western societies: A review and perspectives for future study |
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| Authors: | Charles W Helm Julien Benoit Adrienne Mayor Hayley C Cawthra Cameron R Penn-Clarke Renee Rust |
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| Institution: | 1. Peace Region Palaeontology Research Centre, Box 1540, Tumbler Ridge, British, Columbia, V0C 2W0, Canada;2. African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, PO Box 77000, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa;3. Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa;4. School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa;5. Classics Department, Bldg 110 Main Quad, Stanford University, Stanford CA 94305 USA;6. Geophysics and Remote Sensing Unit, Council for Geoscience Western Cape regional office, PO Box 572, Bellville, 7535, South Africa;7. Iziko Museums of South Africa, PO Box 61, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa;8. School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa |
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| Abstract: | Compared with other parts of the world, the study of geomythology in southern Africa, and the associated documentation of non-western awareness of palaeontological and geological phenomena, is in an early phase. We focus on examples of rocks and fossils as items of special interest and curiosity, and we search for evidence of an indigenous palaeontology and geology. We review twenty-one sites or cases for which published accounts exist, and we describe a newly identified trilobite manuport site. In combination these sites provide various levels of evidence of palaeontological and geological awareness exhibited by non-western cultures in southern Africa, and how these cultures incorporated this knowledge into their understanding of their world. We anticipate that in time a diverse heritage of such ‘natural knowledge’ may become evident in southern Africa, aided in part by recognition of the possibility that rock art images may be associated with awareness of body fossils and trace fossils. We suggest ways in which further analysis may bolster this contention. |
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| Keywords: | Corresponding author at: Box 1690 Tumbler Ridge British Columbia V0C 2W0 Canada Geomythology Fossils Manuport Quartz Track Rock art |
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